


Sleeping Bucky

by Saltylocks



Series: Salty ships Marvel [3]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Civil War Fix-It, Laboratories, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Civil War, Post-Civil War (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-30
Updated: 2016-05-17
Packaged: 2018-06-05 10:37:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 13,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6701494
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saltylocks/pseuds/Saltylocks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve wakes Bucky up a couple of months after the end of Captain America: Civil War.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. True love's kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Hi so yeah, I watched Civil War last night and I am Stucky trash, so here you go.
> 
> This takes place on T'Challa's jungle base a couple of months after the end of Civil war, Steve's back with a cure for the thing in Bucky's head and can finally see him again.

Mid afternoon light spilled into the Wakandan laboratory as Steve pushed the door open. Bucky’s sleeping form greeted him, as usual. He walked over to the pod and stood there for a second, wiping some dust off his forehead. Steve knew he was sweaty, fresh off the battle, but he needed to be there. The last of the Hydra had been broken down. The words to bring Bucky’s mind back revealed. Steve had asked for privacy and the technicians had gracefully turned off the cameras and left.

The words would no effect now, of course. They would be said later. Steve had only asked for privacy as Bucky was unfreezed and woken up, so he could bring him the news himself. His Buck had always had terrible morning temper and Steve couldn’t believe any of that had changed, no matter what Hydra had done to his friend.

Bucky looked so peaceful now, still asleep. Steve couldn’t help but revel in the moment. The process should be done soon, and Bucky up and about in his usual grumpy manner, his brow furrowed, maybe asking for a cup of Joe... 

Steve just followed his friend’s body for a second, feeling his heart beat stop for a second when he realized that Bucky was finally safe. Steve followed the skin on his friend’s arm, his chest, moving up and down in slow, tranquil movements under the white cotton tank top, his face slack. He looked so young, like way before, when they had lived in that bare little attic in Brooklyn, way before all of this, in another life time.

“You know, I went back there,” Steve murmured, unsure if Bucky could hear him. “Back to where we used to live. It wasn’t there anymore. They had tore it all down and built a church.”

Steve snorted a little.

“Probably for the best, right? I mean, that house was infested. Remember when we would lie awake when I had that bad asthma attacks, and we could hear rats inside the walls? And once, you told me one of those bastards, big as a cat, had run over you in the middle of the night, and you wouldn’t sleep for three days because you were afraid it would happen again?”

A woman’s voice announced the thawing process was complete and the pod opened slowly. Bucky showed no sign of waking up though. Steve thought it might help to wake up to a friendly voice, so he kept talking.

“And we always smoked those asthma cigarettes because it was all I had, remember? We sat on that ledge all night, even at winter, under that blanket my ma left me. Man, it was cold, and you were always so warm.”

He stopped, thinking he might have seen a twitch at the corner on Bucky’s lips. But his friend’s body remained as still as it had been before. Steve cocked his head to the side, watching carefully.

“Man, your hair is so long now. I used to cut it for you, remember? You thought one artistic skill automatically bred another.”

Steve smiled and put a hand on Bucky’s head, just to touch his hair, or him. 

“When I’m in tough situations, I always think of the nights out on that roof, and I don’t know, the bad things doesn’t feel as bad, because those moments were perfect.”

Still nothing except for deep breathing from Bucky. Steve smiled sadly.

“I worry sometimes that you won’t come out alive from these things. The pods, or the freezer, or whatever. Call me old fashioned, but I never been too reliant on tech. That’s why it was so important for me to move quickly. But I took them down, Buck. I got the words. You won’t have to worry about them ever hijacking your mind again.”

A low humming sound escaped his friend, like he was deeply content, but he still didn’t wake up or open his eyes. Steve watched, increasingly worried. He had only been frozen once, and there were still things that felt different, weird, damaged, since he woke up, that the doctors had attributed to laying in the ice for so long. He didn’t want to think what the same doctors might find in the body of a man repeatedly thawed and frozen over and over again. 

“Bucky,” he said, putting a hand on his friend’s arm, the fear of losing him suddenly overwhelming, “it’s okay, it’s me, it’s Stevie. Please wake up, please. Peggy is gone, and if you go... There will be no one left. Please.”

He put his forehead on top of Bucky’s. 

“I love you,” he whispered. “Alright, I love you. You know I never would have said it back then, but I don’t care anymore.”

Steve closed his eyes for a second.

“God, my biggest nightmare is finding you somewhere, dead and cold, and me knowing I could have saved you if only I had been there a little faster. I will never let that happen, so please, just wake up.”

He kissed Bucky on the cheek, and opened his eyes as Bucky turned his head to meet his lips with his own. The kiss was in no way perfect, two pairs of chapped dry lips, but it was all Steve needed as he closed his eyes again for a second. When he spoke, he realized he was holding his breath, and slowly exhaled. Bucky was smiling a little, still sleepy. 

“Five more minutes, соня, I don’t want to wake up yet...”

“You’re awake,” Steve stated, not sure if he wanted to remind him.

Bucky blinked up at him.

“Могу ли я?” he mumbled, and then “I am?”

“I think so,” Steve offered, moving away a little.

Bucky’s smile turned loop-sided.

“And still, here you are, so how can it be anything else than a dream?”

When Bucky reached for him again, Steve protested only a little. He tasted exactly like someone who had been asleep for seven months, but still, Steve couldn’t help but deepen the kiss. 

“Ahem.”

Steve was brutally taken back to reality as T’Challa made his presence known to them, standing by one of the windows.

“I can see now why you were so eager to clear him of the suspicion regarding my father’s murder,” he nodded sagely.

“T’Challa,” Steve nodded, feeling a blush climb towards his hairline. 

He moved away, shooting a quick glance in Bucky’s direction. He looked confused, and the normal, suspicious scowl on his face was back. He touched the stump on his left arm, and just stared at Steve. T’Challa looked at him too. Suddenly, it all became too much.

“Sorry, I... I need to wash this off,” Steve mumbled, gesturing to himself before making a swift exit. He had used T’Challa’s jungle facilities as a base for quite some time, and he quickly found his way to some new sweats and a towel. Showering, he touched his lips, trying to etch the feeling and taste of Bucky to his memory. He would apologize, of course, for taking advantage like that, of a barely conscious friend. He was sure Bucky would forgive him if he promised it would never happen again. It would never happen again.


	2. Home is where the heart is

Bucky didn’t say anything as Steve walked back into the laboratories, his hair still wet and just sweats and a white t-shirt on. They were performing tests on the former Winter Soldier, making sure he was in good health. They were showing him pictures now, and Bucky said the names boredly, like he had done it many times before.

“...Peggy, General Phillips, Dum Dum, Gabe, Monty, Jim, Jack, Steve... Me.”

“Is he alright?” Steve asked one of the technicians.

“Seemed a bit confused at first,” she answered, checking off boxes on her medical form. “His majesty T’Challa told us it was to be expected though, due to the... unusual way he was brought out of his sleep.”

Steve was about to apologize, but she didn’t look disapproving, just moderately amused. Steve realized why a second later.

“T’Challa told you, didn’t he?”

“Yes, but he simply wanted to make sure we had all the facts as we were doing the check-up. The confusion could have been viewed as a response to our drugs, but now we know it was simply...”

She shot him another glance over the rim of her glasses, her dark brown eyes briefly glancing him over, a little smirk on her lips. 

“...you,” she concluded. 

Steve could feel his blush return. One of her assistants called out and she waved Steve along. 

“He seems to be alright to us, at least physically. We also need you to assess him, mr Rogers.”

“Me?”

Steve could feel the blush come back. 

“You have known him the longest,” the woman clarified. “Before we say the words you retrieved, we need you to make sure he is alright.”

“What, right now?”

“At your earliest convenience.”

They were almost by the pod. Bucky was sitting on an examination table next to it, his feet dangling from the height. His right hand gripped the edge tightly. He was still wearing the white tank top, which had a very distinct hand print where Steve had touched him earlier. Bucky looked up from the pictures the assistant was showing him and squared his jaw. He didn’t look angry, or happy. He just looked kind of sad and lost. Steve could feel his heart breaking right then, seeing that face. 

“Sorry,” he mumbled. 

Bucky pressed his lips together and nodded, averting his gaze.

“Yeah,” he agreed.

The tech and her assistant suddenly seemed to find something very important to do somewhere else. Steve leaned a little against the wall. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “Being awake again, I mean?”

Bucky shrugged, smiling a little. 

“Fine. They did a good job replicating the drugs needed to put me under. Nothing but good dreams.”

He lingered on Steve's face for a second too long. Steve nodded and didn’t really know what to say next. 

“Did they tell you I found them? The words to release you?” he finally managed, as the silence seemed to spread towards infinity.

“Yeah, I figured. You sure they are the right ones?”

“You wouldn’t be awake otherwise.”

Bucky nodded, smiling a more relaxed smile than Steve had seen him make in a long time.

“The sooner the better,” he said, jumping down to the floor.

“Um, mr Barnes, we still need to run a few more tests,” the technician said.

“I’m fine,” Bucky said, hand to his side, almost triumphant. “Steve, tell them I’m fine.”

So very fine, Steve thought, but didn’t say anything.

“Steve?” Bucky said when Steve hesitated.

“I’m not a doctor, Buck,” Steve murmured. “Don’t you think we should wait if they want to perform more tests?”

Bucky’s smile fell a little. 

“Yeah, alright,” he said.

He sat back against the table. Steve could see the muscles in his jaw chewing, like he always did when Steve told him no. The right arm went up to hug his torso and Steve couldn’t help but reach out and grab his shoulder, careful not to move to close, in case the contact wasn’t welcome. 

“It’s going to happen, Buck,” he said. “It’s just a little wait. We have waited for things before, right? I’m with you pal, ‘til the end of the line, in case there's anything you need.” 

The brief glance Bucky shot him was raw, filled with something deep and steel and unyielding, and Steve thought he might figure it out if he had some time with it, but in the next moment it was gone, and the tech’s surrounded his friend again. Steve felt mostly in the way and eventually left, promising to be back soon and bring dinner.

\---ooo---

“He can’t eat yet," the guard said when Steve returned to the lab with a massive plate of food.

“It’s for me,” Steve said. “I burn through energy pretty fast.”

“Oh, alright then,” she said curtly and let him pass.

“Steve,” Bucky greeted him as he stepped inside, standing up, hooked up to some IV’s. 

His eyes fell on the food Steve had brought. 

“You’re not supposed to eat yet,” Steve warned him.

Bucky gave him a look like he had just told him they were coming for his other arm next. Then he smirked.

“I could take you down, you know,” he threatened. “Seriously, without even breaking a sweat, just like when we were kids.”

“Oh, yeah?” Steve challenged. “And how are you supposed to do that?”

Steve knew this game. They had played it many times, especially after Steve had changed from the serum and during the war. He sat the plate down on the table and crossed his arms.

“Well, hey, I can probably think of a hundred ways just of the top of my head, buddy,” Bucky grinned. “And that’s just with my pinky finger.”

“What, only a hundred?” Steve laughed. “I can think of two hundred with only the basal phalanx.”

“Oh, aren’t we a good artist, naming parts of the anatomy no one else but you know the name of?”

While talking, Bucky moved his IV pole closer, and moving quick, he snatched one french fry from Steve before he had a chance to react. 

“I think I’m even faster without the dead weight that metal chunk of an arm was,” he said, dancing away, the rattling from the wheels of the pole the only thing giving him away. “You’ll never catch me.”

He ate the fries with reverence, and Steve grinned as he grabbed some too. 

“Maybe I just have to start eating them before you grab everything for yourself then,” he smiled.

He dug into a burger, jumping away as the rattle of the pole moved towards him. 

“I could get indigestion if I eat on my feet," he blurted. "Maybe you should be more considerate.”

“You could never get indigestion, not even before the serum. Never seen someone eat so much and still not be full.”

Bucky threw a punch. Steve ducked and kicked at his legs. Bucky jumped away. 

“How would you know?” 

“Remember mrs Hoover?”

“That doesn’t count!”

“Hah, you ate for five that day and also, I got another french fry!”

“Not fair, you distracted me!”

The carefree grin on Bucky’s face was the most beautiful Steve had ever seen, and then he tumbled to the ground, rolling over to not loose the grip on his food. He laid there for a while and Bucky hunched over him, reaching out and taking a big bite of the burger he held to his chest. The kick had barely graced him and still, he had been distracted enough not to jump away.

“Man, that’s good,” Bucky sighed. “Finally surrendering, are you?”

Steve rolled up to his feet, stuffing the last bite into his mouth.

“There are three more burgers,” he said, raising his eyebrow, “ and god knows how many fries. What do you think?”

 

\---ooo--- 

They stood, some time later, chest to chest, the last of the fries behind them. Bucky had pulled out the IV’s as they only held him back, and they tumbled back and forth, half play and half serious as Steve had let go of any illusion that Bucky somehow had a disadvantage losing his metal arm. As Steve tripped his friend’s legs, Bucky swung his legs around Steve’s waist and, in a move not totally unlike Natasha’s signature “legs around neck”, he used his body to make him fall to the floor. The impact made Steve gasp for air and lay still for a while as Bucky still straddled him. Both of them was breathing hard, not often meeting their match in battle. 

And just like that, Bucky leaned down, and very carefully, put his lips against Steve’s. Steve wasn’t sure of he had given some sort of signal that it was okay, but then he didn’t care, because how could it not be? He kissed back, and could feel Bucky’s smile against his mouth, and how was that not the most wonderful thing he had ever felt? To know he was safe, that he wasn’t in the claws of some shady organisation? It was proof that he had protected him, that he had him as close as humanly possible. He never wanted to let him go, but when Bucky moved away, he still let him.

“Steve?” Bucky rasped, his voice shaky. “You okay there, buddy?”

“Mhh?” was all Steve could say, his vocal cords not working. “I thought we shouldn’t do... that?”

“I don’t care anymore, Steve. It doesn’t matter anymore.”

Bucky kissed him again, and Steve felt like he was sixteen again and had asthma, he couldn’t breathe, a build-up in his chest the size of Manhattan. In another life time, they had been there, huddling together for warmth in a narrow bed, Steve wheezing and Bucky looking at him, afraid and blushing.

“I’m sorry,” Bucky had said, “I thought you wanted, to...” 

“I...I did, I do,” Steve had wheezed, resigned, “damn lungs...”

They hadn’t talked about it again after that, and Bucky had even called him a fag once when they argued, but had apologized profusely pretty quickly after that. They were the best of friends, always, but they had never tried to touch in that way again. After the serum, neither of them had brought it up. 

Steve didn’t know how to handle himself now, so he just followed Bucky, kissing him ferociously, wherever he could, his cheeks, his ears, his neckline and jaw. Kissing his mouth was the best, the feeling of knowing he could exhilarating. 

“I think I’m going mad,” he slurred as he looked up at his friend.

“That would be a nice change of pace, wouldn’t it?” Bucky laughed. “You being the one called a loony for once.”

He rolled over and curled up next to Steve.

“This is nice too,” he said. “You used to curl up to me, remember?”

“I was almost a head shorter than you.”

“Aw, little Stevie, all grown up.”

“You’re not so tiny yourself,” Steve laughed. 

“I guess,” Bucky said, something dark in his eyes.

He burrowed closer and Steve placed his arm around him. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Steve murmured.

“I just... I spent a lot of time hating them, for doing this to me. But now, right now, right here, I just, I’m not happy about everything, but I’m happy I got as far as meeting you again, and have you like this.”

Steve’s chest shut down again.

“Me too,” he wheezed.

Bucky tucked his arm tighter around Steve. His head felt really heavy against his chest.

“Bucky?”

“Mmm?” 

“How can you be sleepy when you already slept for seven months?”

“I don’t know, I just feel really relaxed,” Bucky said into his ribs.

“Yeah,” Steve said and yawned.

He felt it too, the overbearing feeling of home, of safety. He felt muscles in his body relax he hadn’t even known he had. Bucky had been home for him so long, he hadn’t been able to feel at ease without him. Now, he finally did.

“I love you, you know,” he said into Bucky’s hair. 

“Love you too buddy,” Bucky replied, like he had many times before, and Steve wondered if someone could be happier than him on the whole planet.


	3. A little less conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little less conversation, a little more action. Kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plots aren't my strong suite, but then again, who needs them? :P

Steve came too a couple of hours later. He looked down at Bucky and it didn’t feel more than right to slowly get up and drag the assassin to his feet. 

“Hey,” Bucky protested sleepily.

“Come on, time for bed.”

Steve didn’t think it would be weird for them to sleep in the same bed. They had before. The former Winter Soldier seemed to think differently though. Steve woke up a couple of hours later, with a hand around his throat and a knee to his groin. The darkness around them was quiet, he could barely hear Bucky breathe, even with his enhanced senses.

“Bucky?” he hissed.

“Steve?”

Bucky let him go, but still hovered, to make sure he hadn't hurt him.

“Прости,” Bucky said, sorry, but there was something dark in his voice too, and god, it made Steve’s head swim, the danger, the knowledge they were a match, and how much he wanted him. God, he wanted him. Steve reached out towards the other man, sensing the same darkness unfurl that he had seen the day before. 

“Don’t kill me,” he said, only half jokingly, as their lips crashed together. 

\---ooo---

“You know what dreamed about? When I was in the pod?”

They were huddling together on the roof, waiting for the sun to rise, delirious, sleep deprived, but they had been through worse before, and they were just this feeling of now-or-never in the air, like they might not experience something this free or careless ever again. Steve rested his head on Bucky’s shoulder, wrapped up in a big blanket they had found in on of the closets in the sleeping quarters. He might have ignored Bucky’s low mumble if he hadn’t sound so longing, so eager to tell.

“What?” Steve hummed low in his chest.

Bucky shifted a little, pausing for a while before continuing.

“We were back in my apartment in Bucharest. We were us, after the serum, but no government or agency was after us. Everything was calm, this thing in my head gone, like Hydra had never existed and we just happened to still be alive and young. We went to the market. Ran in the park. Shopped furniture for our apartment. Cooked dinners. I think we had jobs too, like, you were a professional painter and I was a teacher, I think. I don’t remember, it wasn’t important in the dream. It was just us, and it was very quiet and very peaceful.”

A colorful bird landed in a tree close to them and started singing. The sun started to peek through the foliage and warm them up. Steve didn’t want to scare the bird off, so he kept quiet. He could feel Bucky watching it too, by the way he moved the muscles in his shoulders. 

“Sounds like a good dream,” Steve whispered. 

“It was. I didn’t want it to end.” 

Bucky sighed, audibly, and the bird left. 

“I know it might not be a quiet life,” Steve said, “but we can keep together and do all those things. Get an apartment, go to the market... these things aren’t impossible dreams, Buck. Not like before.”

He stood up and reached out a hand. Bucky stared into eternity for a little while, a perfectly sculptured creature, before looking up at the hand in front of him, and into Steve’s eyes. 

“Yeah, I know,” he snorted, and if there was something resembling tears in his eye as he got up and limberly climbed back inside the lab, Steve never mentioned it.

\---ooo---

“Hey,” Steve said as Bucky spread himself out on the bed. “Where am I supposed to fit, huh?”

“What are you talking about, there is plenty of room.” 

Bucky chuckled and Steve threw himself on top of him, almost pushing him out of the bed.

“Hey,” Bucky shouted, “come on!”

Steve caught him on the edge of the bed, and suddenly the feeling in the room changed. Bucky gasped and looked very small and afraid for a second, and Steve could feel his own chest tighten.

“I got you,” he said, reeling, dragging Bucky back and pressing him tightly against his chest, “I got you.”

“I know,” Bucky said, but his voice was small and he was shivering a little. 

Steve kissed his hair, his cheek, his neck and shoulders, everywhere he could reach.

“I can’t promise you I’ll always be there, but I’ll try,” he whispered.

“I know,” Bucky said again.

They stayed like that for what felt like a long time. 

\---ooo---

The most exciting part must be feeling all Bucky’s skin exposed against his, Steve argued as he kissed along Bucky’s ribs, one by one, under the covers. Bucky made a sound he never thought the assassin could produce, sounding almost like a giggle. Steve snorted against his skin, and made a detour for his belly button.

“Stevie...” Bucky warned him as Steve worked his way over his stomach, “it tickles, don’t, seriously, I’ll kill you if you, Steve...”

Steve smiled against his skin, making his way lower until his chin hit something soft and smooth. Without a second thought, other than making Bucky feel good, he wrapped his lips around it.

The gasp told him he was doing everything right, and then, he was on the floor, 260 lbs of former Winter Soldier weighing him down.

“Steve,” the dark shape growled. 

He kept very still.

“Too much?” he whispered.

“No, I just... I need to be in control, I...”

Steve could feel Bucky’s legs press against his thighs, pushing him against the floor. The hand on his neck did nothing to ease the deep desire he felt, and he was sure Bucky could sense it too, his fingers no longer strangling him, just marking his throat in defense. He was in charge, but they both knew Steve could change that if he wanted. 

He reached up to touch Bucky’s face, and then, Bucky let go and kissed him back, desperate, his palms on Steve’s arms and hair like there was no tomorrow, like he was shattering and kissing Steve helped him keep himself together. Steve felt his breath in his mouth, his taste on his tongue, and still wanted more. He slowly reached out and with every kiss he traced lower down Bucky’s back and side, reaching his leg and thighs. Bucky let out little puffs of air but didn’t stop Steve’s hand from circling inwards in slow eight shapes, further and further, lazily. When Steve finally reached what he was looking for, he dragged his fingers along Bucky’s erection. 

The shiver cursing through Bucky’s body made him stop for a second, but Bucky only ground himself deeper into his hand, holding his breath, so Steve knew he was on the right track. He used his whole hand this time, moving the palm slowly. Bucky shuddered and let out the breath he was holding, gripping Steve tightly, using his legs as leverage to get even closer, tucking his head into the nape of his neck and breathing against his earlobe. Steve’s hand was between their legs and he knew it wasn’t going to cut it, so he turned them over, Bucky on his back, and lowered his mouth over Bucky’s cock. Bucky’s breath came out in small little puffs, but he didn’t try to break away, so Steve kept at it, watching Bucky’s nails dig five little holes in the carpet, watching the damp skin on his stomach shine as he arched his back, and then a little sound escaped the man and a thick substance filled the back of his throat. 

Steve moved his lips away slowly. It was safe to say they had never been that close before. Bucky still had his eyes shut, a little wrinkle between his eyebrows. Then it was gone, and he opened his eyes, staring down at him with a glassy expression in them. 

“I guess that answers that question,” he said, reaching for him.

“What question?” Steve asked as he came back to meet his face. 

“If Captain America spits or swallows.”

Steve just looked back at him, and Bucky started chuckling.

“What?” he deadpanned.

“Just, your face,” Bucky wheezed, laughing harder, “you look so confused... Come here.”

He started kissing Steve's face between fits of giggles, and somehow things got intense again, Bucky rubbing down between his legs and up along his erection with broad lazy strokes, biting and kissing his lips and ears and neck until Steve felt like he couldn’t take another second and Bucky just kept him balanced on that edge, dangerous and triumphant and so so good at what he was doing.

“Nghhh, please, ah-I...” Steve breathed, “please.”

“Not yet, моя любовь,” Bucky breathed, my love, and sank his teeth deeper into Steve’s neck, mingling the pain, making him feel more present. Steve felt like his head was spinning, like he could feel every part of Bucky touching him, like it was burning.

There was a knock on the door, and Bucky was distracted and pressed just a little herder than he had intended, and it was enough to send Steve over the edge, forcefully. He cried out, and then Bucky’s hand was over his mouth, quieting him.

“Mr Rogers? Can you please help us locate mr Barnes?” 

It sounded like on of the technicians, and the slight quiver in her voice suggested it was rather urgent. Steve slowly got up from the floor and stumbled over to the door. 

“Steve!” Bucky hissed and threw him a bundled up blanket.

He sluggishly wrapped it around himself before cracking the door open a little.

“Hello?”

“I’m sorry mr Rogers, I didn’t realize you were still asleep. We can’t get a track of the Winter Soldier and frankly, we are getting a little nervous.”

Steve felt himself blush, as he had come to expect now, concerning Bucky.

“Yeah, I... He’s in here, with me.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize!” she said, smiling, visibly relaxing. “Can I just have a visual confirmation so I know to call of the search...”

Bucky popped his head up around the door too, the bed covers slung around his waist, combing some hair back from his face.

“...team,” the tech continued, her mouth falling open a little at the sight of him. Her eyes moved between the two, carefully, and she looked a little taken aback.

“Visual confirmation enough for you, miss?” Bucky asked politely, and she blinked, and straightened up. 

“The... Yes, quite. Thank you. Carry on.” 

She moved away quickly, but Steve waited until she had turned the corner before closing the door.

“Now they are definitely going to talk,” he said, and slumped down back on the bed.

“We should probably shower,” Bucky said and laid down next to him.

“And eat,” Steve jawned. 

Five minutes later, they were asleep, pressed snugly together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More to come!


	4. The spell is broken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other Avengers finds T'Challas base, Steve and Bucky. Stark has a request.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry but the plot has shown it's ugly face. I kind of like it though.
> 
> If you like this, I've written another story called "A self-made man" which also is Stucky. You can find it [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4939429/chapters/11335864).
> 
> If you want you can follow me on Twitter @Saltwaterhair or on Tumblr @saltvattenshar or @writing-with.

Around people they just moved like shadows of the other, mimicking perfectly, inseparable. T’Challa pulled them aside and told them they were acting like children, two big, inhumanly strong children, caught laughing, kissing and sleeping in all sorts of weird places in the building. The staff had even complained about noises in the ventilation once. 

“As much as your new found appreciation amuses me, the preparations for the words Steve found are almost complete. Are you prepared for what is going to happen?"

They looked at each other, and nodded, more in sync than ever. The Wakandan king looked frustrated and muttered something under his breath before nodding and walking off. 

“Are you really ready for this?” Steve asked Bucky. 

“You worried something is going to go wrong?”

They were making their way towards the kitchen, down a narrow corridor.

“I don’t want to lose you again, Bucky,” Steve said as they walked inside. “If I thought it was difficult before...”

“And why would I be lost?”

Bucky picked up a piece of leftover toast and took a bite.

“I don’t know,” Steve said, “all I know is that Hydra can’t be trusted.”

“It doesn’t change the fact that those codes you found means I can finally be set free. What if I still didn't have them and I was captured? Then they could send me on another mission! I want to be able to leave this place, to be with you in all the ways that matters. I can’t do that if I’m constantly afraid that some old remnant of Hydra will be able to activate me again.”

“Yeah, I know, I just worry, I guess.”

Bucky grinned wide, the lines around his eyes crinkling. He had no idea how much Steve loved seeing him like that.

“You’re so handsome,” Steve sighed, “I wish I had my drawing supplies here so I could show you.”

“Oh, I think I have some clue already,” Bucky said, and his smile softened as he leaned into Steve. 

“Oh GOD!” a voice behind them groaned.

“Clint!” Steve shouted and turned around. 

“I mean, I know he’s supposed to be on our side and all, but... MAN!”

“How did you find us?” Steve said as he patted the smaller man’s back. 

Bucky had a reserved frown on his face as he leaned back against the counter, frowning at the archer. Clint raised his hand in acknowledgement, cleared his throat, and then focused back on Steve.

“Coulson taught me a thing or two,” he explained his presence to them. “Besides, you weren’t hard to track, all those exploding former-Hydra buildings kind of hinted at what you were after.”

“Who else knows we’re here?” Bucky growled, squaring his shoulders.

Steve gave Clint a stern look. 

“Um, let’s see, probably everybody by now.”

“Stark?” 

“Upstairs, suiting off.”

“Nat?”

“She has taken some time off with Banner.”

“Any of the new ones?”

“Only T’Challa.”

“Great,” Steve muttered. “Bucky?”

“Yeah, go ahead, I’ll hide somewhere.”

Steve stared at him like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Wait here,” he told Clint as he moved closer to the former Winter Soldier. “Buck, you are coming upstairs to meet the others.”

“The last time we met them, I fought them.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Doesn’t change who I was. Stark’s up there and I killed his parents. Steve, that’s not something you forgive.”

“It wasn’t you, Buck, that was Hydra.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think it matters that much to him.”

“Maybe not, but it matters to me!”

Steve was getting loud.

“What does it matter what Stark thinks?” he growled. “He’s not part of our team anymore. He can think the Earth’s flat and it is still not going to make it so!”

Bucky looked at him, really looked, his mouth turning up slightly in a crooked grin. 

“Thanks Steve,” he said, slumping forward and burrowing his nose into his chest, taking a deep breath. 

“Sure thing buddy,” Steve said, hugging him tight. 

“Ready?” Clint asked casually behind them.

Steve nodded.

\---ooo---

“Everybody” was an overstatement. Waiting for them back at the labs was T’Challa, Stark, Falcon, Wanda and Sharon.

“Hello, Steve said, and then everybody’s eyes were on Bucky, walking up to stand next to him. Steve realized how different he must look to those who had only seen him as the big bad assassin with a metal arm. The little stump where it used to be moved inwards as Bucky shifted to hug himself a little, glaring defiantly at them. It made him look small and vulnerable, besides the fact that he was wearing a pair of sweats and white tank top, same as Steve.

“Look at you,” Tony said, breaking the silence. “You look like a duo from the 90’s. Very... sporty.”

“Thanks, Tony,” Steve smiled effortlessly, and the whole room seemed to take a deep breath and relax a bit.

“So this has been your base, huh?” 

Stark took a few steps forward, looking around curiously.

“T’Challa, you should have mentioned that you had this place.”

T’Challa shrugged. 

“It didn’t occur to me. I have a lot of them around the world.”

Stark nodded, impressed. Steve could see the calculations spin in his head, but then he gathered himself. 

“A conversation for another time,” he concluded.

“Well, you’ve found us,” Steve said, a little impatiently. “Is this just a social visit or is there something more pressing matter to attend to around here?”

They all quieted.

“I called them,” T’Challa admitted, “or, in all fairness, I called Stark, and told him he could bring anyone he thought would be useful.” 

“He called me,” Sharon said, “because I needed to know you weren’t dead.”

She glared at Steve. Bucky gave Steve a shove. Steve nodded, looking a little vexed.

“She called me,” Wanda said, “and I Clint, who called Sam, and here we are.”

Steve felt something nasty coil in the pit of his stomach.

“To do what, exactly?” he asked.

Stark locked eyes with him.

“To oversee the process when you say the words or do the thing, whatever it is, that releases sergeant Barnes here from the hold Hydra has on him.”

“We’re witnesses,” Wanda added. “We won’t interfere or anything, just see it happen.”

Steve nodded.

“That’s it?”

Wanda looked a little hesitant, and then Tony started talking again.

“After mr Barnes is released, we will bring him back to the U.S. for trial.”

The room quieted.

“What?” Steve said.

“A trial. For the crimes committed by the Winter Soldier. The United Nations alone...”

“Tony, you can’t be serious!”

Tony’s eyes were pure iron looking back into Steve’s equally unyielding eyes. The others seemed uneasy, but didn’t move.

“Bucky has suffered enough for several lifetimes,” Steve hissed. “There is no way you are separating us. I’d rather spend another thousand years in the ice before I let that happen.”

“As chivalrous as that might sound, Cap, you can’t deny he is dangerous and that he killed lot’s of people. Just because he isn’t doing it right now...”

“That’s why I took down all those buildings all across Europe! To make sure no one can ever activate him again!”

“You can’t know that it works seamlessly!”

“I know it won’t be easier if we put him in prison!”

“Tony is right.”

Steve did a double take and turned to look at Bucky, who leaned at the back wall of the room. Tony made a sound of surprise.

“Bucky, you can’t be serious,” Steve said.

The former assassin lifted his gaze and stared down the other Avengers in the room. 

“I’m a criminal,” he said. “I will come back willingly. I will serve time, as long as it takes, to repent for what I’ve done.”

Steve shot a glare back at Tony before approaching Bucky carefully.

“We can run,” he whispered, feeling his own desperation swallowing him up. “We can be on another continent by tomorrow. Please - please don’t do this.”

Bucky looked up at him, smiling his crooked smile. 

“I knew this was going to happen since I first saw Hawkeye. It’s too late to run anywhere now. I have to accept punishment at some point, Steve.”

Steve felt ill. He had never been so ill in his life, not even when he was hungry and had asthma and fever at the same time. 

“No,” he whispered.

He could feel the tears behind his eyelids. Bucky looked at him, his eyes shiny and big. 

“Steve...”

He couldn’t take it.

“No,” he said again, and punched the wall next to Bucky. His hand went through the white concrete and left a big hole in it. It wasn’t near enough. 

No one stopped him as he ran out the door.

\---ooo---

After Steve left, everything was very quiet. Bucky looked after him. Tony scratched his neck, looking at the others. 

“Since it seems you are going to stay here for a while, may I show you the sleeping arrangements?” T’Challa said gingerly. 

“Oh thank god,” Clint and Falcon breathed in unison, and Wanda smiled a little, although she shot a worried look at the one armed man by the wall. Sharon nodded, a little pale. 

“Is it always like this?” she whispered to Wanda.

Wanda shrugged as they moved to follow T’Challa. 

“I’ll catch up with you later,” Tony said.

He slowly walked up to Bucky who still stared a little too intently after where Steve had disappeared. 

“Barnes?”

“It’s James,” Bucky responded automatically, and then seemed to unfreeze and turned to Stark. 

Tony regarded him, in the way one might watch a feral tiger or a wolf. Bucky suddenly felt very tired. He didn’t exactly blame him for keeping his distance, but he missed Steve’s easy companionship already, the way he effortlessly touched him, without fear or hesitation.

“I’m just gonna...” he mumbled and slid down against the wall. 

“Sure, by all means,” Tony said, and then, “mind if I join you?”

“Not at all,” Bucky sighed, resting his back against the cold stone, closing his eyes.

Stark’s curiosity was almost palpable as he sat down next to him.

“I have upgraded my suit. I’ll be covered in .03 seconds. If you suddenly feel like attacking me, you know.”

“I noticed,” Bucky murmured. “It’s very impressive. And don’t worry, I don’t do... that, anymore.”

Stark nodded.

“Mhm, so I’ve been told. That’s good.”

They were quiet for a while.

“You really mean it?” Stark asked. “What you said? You’ll come quietly?”

“Yeah. I know what I did.”

One of the technicians walked into the room, and Bucky opened his eyes, hope flickering by for a second. Tony couldn’t help but feel his heart break a little at the lost expression on the Winter Soldier’s face when he saw who it was, or rather, who it wasn’t. The tech excused herself quickly and Bucky shrunk back, closed his eyes again, cradling his remaining arm. Tony had a sudden urge to hug him, but reeled himself in. He wasn’t angry with him anymore, he realized. The burst of wrath he had harboured had all but vanished at the sight of the scarred man behind the mask. The assassin had killed his parents, but he had acted on orders from an agency that had brainwashed him. Tony hadn’t actually thought it would be so easy to track them down, or convince the Winter Soldier to come back with them. Looking at him now, all he saw was a young man, younger than him. Tony started to understand Steve’s side a little better. 

“You miss your arm?” he asked, just to break the silence, on the off hand of getting some actual answers.

“Nah,” Bucky said, “it was pretty heavy.”

He opened his eyes a little to glance down at the arm. 

“It belonged to Hydra anyway, not me.”

He looked over at Tony.

“You think Steve’s coming back?” 

Tony felt a lump in his throat.

“Yeah, of course.” 

The look on Barnes' face almost made Tony look away, the way he missed Steve, unfiltered and raw. He really was just a kid from Brooklyn, that Hydra had hijacked to do awful things. It was just unfair. 

“I didn’t think you would agree to come back for a trial,” Tony admitted. “I expected you to run.”

Bucky shrugged. Tony just looked at him and shook his head. 

“Steve hinted that you were a stubborn man.”

“He did, did he?” 

A small, genuine smile on Barnes' face, before falling back into the expressionless sulk. He rested his forehead on his knees. Tony didn’t like him like that, so shut off.

“Tell me about the experiments,” he said. “That Hydra did on you. What do you remember?”

Bucky loosened up a little after that. He told Tony about the war. His Brooklyn accent got broader as he talked about him and Steve living together in a small shabby apartment without heating or food. 

“Why did you live together?”

“Steve had these asthma attacks, you know, and kept getting in fights. He was like a walking time bomb.”

Bucky smiled again.

“No one else was around and I needed him to stay alive. I needed him. I guess I’ll always need him.”

They started talking about the experiments, the serum, and the missions Hydra set him out on. Tony felt sick when he realized Bucky really did remember all of them. 

“You really...? Oh.”

Bucky talked and talked. Sometimes there were almost tears, but he didn't wipe them away. Tony wanted to comfort him, tell him everything would be alright. Carefully, he put a hand on Bucky’s shoulder, and then around both of them. Bucky snorted a little, but didn’t pull away. 

“Thanks,” he murmured. 

Tony just nodded sagely at him. He wasn’t sure what just happened, but he felt like a stone has just lifted from his chest. 

“It’s going to be okay,” he said. 

Bucky looked at him and nodded hesitantly. 

“Maybe,” he tried.

“That’s a good boy.”

Bucky’s narrowing eyes was a sudden reminder of who he was talking to, and for a second he thought about his suit, but then the kid dared to quip something back at him, words and phrases sounding like something the old shareholders at his company would say, and before he knew it he was in a bickering match he would never have guessed he would have, with the Winter Soldier. This was of course also the time that Clint choose to return along with T’Challa, and Tony actually enjoyed the look of challenge on Bucky’s face as he backed down. This wasn’t over, and they both knew it. Tony grinned, and Clint looked between them and sighed. 

“Dude, you got to tell me how you do that.”

Bucky frowned at him.

“Never mind, then,” Clint said, taking a step back.

“The test is ready to run,” T’Challa informed them. “Our technicians have informed us that mr Rogers is on the roof.”

“No I’m not.”

Steve stepped out from behind the door, nodding to the others before striding over to Bucky. 

“Sorry,” he murmured, looking ashamed. “I just... it wasn’t my place, to speak for you. It’s your choice, Buck.”

Bucky seemed to consider him for a moment before graciously accepting.

“Thank you,” he said, softly.

They looked at each other for a while longer, before Bucky turned over to T’Challa. 

“Can we do the code-experiment tomorrow?” he said in a low voice. “I’m not going anywhere, and I’m not sure what happens tomorrow, so I just...”

His eyes shifted back at Steve for a second.

“Of course,” T’Challa answered politely. “Let’s say after breakfast tomorrow?”

Bucky nodded, and Steve too. 

“Thanks, T.”

“Mr Stark, if I may show you the sleeping arrangements?”

“Yes, thank you, T’Challa, or is it just ‘T’?” 

T’Challa smiled a little wider. 

“It’s whatever you like, Stark.”

Steve and Bucky made their way in an other direction, and Steve entwined their fingers as they moved away. It caught Tony’s eye but they were gone before his brain has a chance to register it. He nudged T’Challa as they continued to walk.

“Hey, T’Challa, Steve and Winter- James, are they, you know...”

T’Challa sighed audibly.

“Very much and all the time.”

“Huh.”

“Are you surprised?”

“Not really.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued...
> 
> Show your appreciation by leaving kudos <3


	5. The plot thickens

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve and Bucky has some nightly visitors, and their relationship deepens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, so, okay, more plot and also some sexy times. 
> 
> Thank you so so so much for all the positive feedback I've gotten, it makes me happy to hear I'm doing a good job :D 
> 
> (please keep it coming ;))

“Hey, Steve?”

Steve cracked a sleep drunk eye open and met Bucky’s, dark and tense. The voice had come from the door, soft and laced with something more, something prodding his mind. 

“Wanda?”

Steve shot a glance at Bucky, who scrunched up his face when Steve let in the cold air under their covers getting up. 

Steve slipped into his underwear and a t-shirt. Opening the door, he faced the Scarlet Witch.

“Hi guys,” she smiled, and waved at Bucky who covered his face from the light with the bed covers. “Sorry, I know it’s late... or early, maybe. I just wanted to tell you...”

She looked a little unsure, before clearing her throat.

“I just wanted to say, I didn’t know what Stark was up to. All I knew was that we were supposed to help you. I want you to know that, that I don’t think you are guilty for what Hydra did to you.”

She looked back at Bucky who sat up in the bed now, meeting her eyes. When she quieted, he nodded, almost unnoticeable.

“Thank’s for the heads-up, Wanda,” Steve said.

She gave him a warm hug and winked at Bucky. After she left, Steve closed the door and laid back on the bed.

“That was nice of her,” he said, slinging an arm around Bucky and closing his eyes.

“Mmm,” Bucky mumbled, burrowing closer to Steve. “She’s nice.”

“Yeah.”

“Steve.”

Steve felt something touch his shoulder, and then Bucky was gone, pushing a dark shape to the floor, knee to it’s chest.

“Clint?”

A few minutes later, Bucky was back on the bed, glaring at Hawkeye, who glared back. 

“Why can’t we be friends, huh?” he grumbled. 

Bucky audibly growled at him.

“Let’s talk outside,” Steve said quickly and shoved Barton out the door, closing it behind him.

“He really doesn’t like me, does he?” 

Clint actually looked concerned.

“He just... you have had some bad timing. Give it time?”

“Alright.”

Steve rubbed his eyes tiredly, lumbering silently and waiting for Clint to speak.

“Alright, I just came by to say, you know, before all this goes down, that I won’t be part of bringing Barnes into custody.” 

“You too, huh?”

“What? Who else?”

“Wanda was here a second ago and said the same thing. I’m surprised you didn’t pass her on the way.”

“Let’s just say I didn’t use the conventional way to get here.”

“...right,” Steve nodded.

“How are you holding up?” the archer asked him next, studying him.

“You know,” Steve shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if all of you won’t escort him, because Buck already... he has already decided to go with Tony. He considers himself guilty.”

Clint nodded, looking sympathetic.

“He can be pretty stubborn,” Steve tried to brush it off.

“Yeah. Anyway, I better get some sleep. See you tomorrow.”

“‘night,” Steve said.

Clint and Wanda’s words warmed his heart, but he wasn’t sure it made any difference.

“Same thing?” Bucky asked when he crawled back into bed.

“Yeah,” Steve breathed. “What’s your deal with Barton, anyway?”

Bucky snorted.

“I don’t know, he just get on my nerves, always talking so slow and loud.”

“Well, he’s got a hearing disability. He reads lips and facial expressions a lot.”

Bucky was quiet for a second. His voice was small and soft when he answered.

“I guess that explains a lot.”

“Sorry, I should have told you,” Steve said.

He burrowed his face in the nape of Bucky’s neck, but it took a long time for him to get to sleep.

\---ooo---

The harsh daylight came far too early for Steve’s taste. He pulled the covers over his head and moved closer to the warm body in his arms. He didn’t want to leave him, and a combination of his bad dreams and not being fully awake made him very afraid of loosing Bucky again. He kissed his hair, his shoulders, neck and chin until the former assassin woke up and turned to him. 

“доброе утро,” he mumbled, and then “Good morning,” and a crooked smile.

Steve kissed his lips, pressed against his body, a sense of desperation gripping him, like he couldn’t live if he wasn’t as entwined as possible with his lover. Like he might lose him at any moment. Which wasn’t too far from the truth. Bucky didn’t seem to mind, all warm naked skin and callused hands, dragging his palms over his back, pressing them closer still. Steve couldn’t get enough of him, tumbling over so he was underneath, pressing his hips upwards, letting their lengths touch. Bucky grinned and deepened their kiss, rubbing against his thigh.

“I love you,” Steve said, dragging his hand through Bucky’s hair.

“I love you too,” Bucky rasped, kissing him harder, nibbling on his jaw and ears, teasing him until Steve thought he would bristle. Bucky reached down to his thigh again, circling too slow again, balancing him perfectly on the edge, making Steve whine and gasp louder and louder. He looked up to beg Bucky to stop, but then he got a glimpse of Bucky’s face and decided against it, because no matter how intense the feeling got he loved the expression on the former assassins face, concentrated, flushed and a confident smile on his lips. When Bucky reached between his legs Steve almost lost it but Bucky slowed his movements until Steve was back on the plateau again. He heard a swift sound and then Bucky’s fingers was gone, and Steve couldn’t breathe, and then they were back, prodding and slick, and Steve had never realized he could want something so much as he wanted Bucky inside him, it was a hot, immediate need, and the realization alone made him buckle and arch as Bucky slowly moved his fingers inside and stretched him open. 

“Feel good?” Bucky growled.

“Ah,” Steve gasped out. “So good.”

Bucky chuckled, moving a little faster, watching Steve for signs of becoming too exited. The first time he reached in long enough to touch against Steve prostate, Steve jumped and yelped. 

“Sensitive,” Bucky tsked with a grin in his voice, and reached out to kiss Steve’s chest. Steve moved his head up and they shared a sweaty kiss, Steve not being able to breathe properly. Bucky kept fingering him and when it was almost too much, he slowed down, making Steve whimper loudly.

“Not yet,” Bucky purred, a mix of calm and cocky, and Steve stayed still, trying to will him to move faster, touch him deeper, harder, faster... Bucky started moving faster again, adding more fingers, making Steve shiver.

“Please, Buck, please,” he whispered, “I need more, I want...”

“Turn over Stevie,” Bucky breathed softly, and Steve turned on his stomach, spreading his legs wide, and a second later, Bucky was slowly filling him up, wide and warm like a spear. It was almost too much, and still not enough. He moved his hips to accommodate his girth, focused on relaxing.

“Steve?”

Bucky kissed his neck slowly. He realized he wasn’t breathing. 

“Move?”

Bucky moved slowly and Steve relaxed more, and then he touched against his prostate and Steve shivered.

“No, no,” Bucky said. “I need to see your face.”

They shifted, Bucky on his back on the bed, quickly applying more lube to himself, Steve slowly sinking down on his cock. He liked it better too, seeing Bucky losing the confident grin and starting to sweat too. First Steve just focused on fitting him inside, but the blissed out, choked expression on Bucky’s face when he moved his hips made him feel a thrill of power up his spine, mixed with the arousal, so he moved again, and again, and again, and Bucky arched and flailed more widely each time. Steve could feel the grin spread on his face, along with the droplets of sweat from the tension of holding back his own climax. It wasn’t until Bucky broke and arched up into him, his lips forming a perfect o, twitching and coming inside him, that Steve’s final shred of control snapped and he found his own release, shaking and pulsing and tumbling over, resting on Bucky’s chest.

“Steve,” Bucky, said, over and over again, “Steve, Steve, Steve...”

“Mhm?”

“Did I tell you that I love you?” Bucky babbled on. “I think I did but I kind of feel like it might need repeating, because I love you very much, Steve, so so much...”

“Shhh, I know, I love you too,”

“Steve, god, I...”

Bucky interrupted himself, swallowing hard.

“You are amazing,” he concluded in a whisper.

Steve chuckled.

“Where did you find the lube, anyway?” he said as he slowly eased himself off so they could cuddle more comfortably.

“It was in your nightstand,” Bucky mumbled against his chest. “I saw it there before.”

“Huh.”

Steve had never bought lube in his life. Had someone placed it there? God knew he couldn’t ask the others about it, but he wished whoever had done it all the luck in the world.

“We should hit the showers, I guess,” Steve sighed. “The others are going to wake up soon.”

“Guess you’re right,” Bucky said, sluggishly heaving himself out of bed.

Steve moved too and winced a little.

“Sorry,” Bucky said, but had a hard time containing his smugness.

Steve looked at him as they dressed and grabbed new towels and clothes. He felt uneasy, even though he knew had no business deciding what Bucky should do or if he would be judged for what Hydra had done to him. He couldn’t help but wanting to stay close to him, entwining their fingers and hugging his waist. They used the same shower stall in the empty changing room, sharing long kisses under the warm water. In the locker room they met Sam, back from his morning run. 

“Hey guys,” he greeted them, and then he looked between them a second time, and his whole face lit up.

“So it’s true then?” he smiled. “You two are a thing?”

Steve shrugged.

“Yes.”

“Listen,” Falcon said, leaning in a little, “I didn’t want to bring it up, but you know I won’t be a part of of this whole “Bring The Winter Soldier To Justice”-thing Stark has going on, right? I heard Wanda and Clint talk about it last night outside our door too. But you might want to talk to Sharon.”

Steve felt his stomach sink. Sharon. He had been so tangled up in his own mind he had forgot that she might not be happy with the way things had unfolded.

“Thanks for the heads up,” Steve murmured.

“No problem, man.”

“Sorry they dragged you into this.”

“Nah, I’m just happy to see you guys are alright. Apparently more than okay, it seems.”

He grinned at them. Steve smiled and squeezed Sam’s shoulder before heading out, Bucky like a shadow behind him.

“Sharon?” Bucky asked casually.

“We haven’t talked since that kiss,” Steve admitted.

Bucky quieted, and then he punched Steve in the shoulder.

“How stupid are you?” Bucky asked sincerely, an astonished tone in his voice. 

“I was focused on taking down Hydra!”

“That’s not an excuse! It might have been in 1944, but now there is the Internet and all kinds of messaging devices, like, e-mail and texts and, and 'kik'.”

Bucky did little air quotes, shaking his head.

“For god’s sake, Steve!”

“I know, I know...” Steve muttered.

“I’ll grab some breakfast,” Bucky sighed. “Don’t you dare come back until you have talked to her.”

“Fine, fine.”

\---ooo---

Steve found Sharon outside the women’s dormitory, still in pajama pants and a cup of coffee in her hands. She was staring out the big windows at the sun, almost completely risen over the horizon.

“Nice view, right?” Steve said, trying not to startle her.

“Steve!”

She smiled at him, but her eyes stayed wary, and he suspected his face did a similar thing.

He walked to stand next to her. 

“It’s very nice,” she said, too long after he had asked. “The view, I mean.”

“Yes. Nice.”

They quieted again.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you. There is really no excuse...”

“Oh, no, I get it, you were in, like, Siberia or something. Don’t worry.”

“I just... Sorry.”

“Steve, look, I’m not mad at you.”

Steve contemplated what she had said for maybe half a minute.

“Why not?” he deadpanned. “I don’t mean I want you to be, but, you know.”

“I don’t know,” she sighed. “It’s like... you know, it’s a little weird. I grew up on stories about you. And I watched over you when you lived in in that tiny apartment. I don’t think I can be your girlfriend, Steve. It’s too... weird. It’s like getting together with someone from a fairy tale.”

Steve looked at her, trying to notice any signs of deception, of her trying to be brave or manipulate him. But she looked back at her, her blonde hair still tousled from sleeping, drinking her lukewarm coffee. She reminded him of Peggy then, even if they didn’t look the same, it was something in the steely gaze and the shoulders.

“I'm sorry,” he said again. "I understand."

“I’m glad,” she said, relaxing. “We’re still friends, right?” 

“Of course,” Steve said, relaxing too, bending down to give her a hug. His stomach grumbled loudly when he moved away from her.

“Gosh,” he sighed, “I should really get something to eat. You good?”

“I’ll join you in a sec,” Sharon smiled. 

He turned to leave.

“Hey Steve?”

“Yes?”

“I won’t try to catch Bucky if he decides to run. You tell him that, alright?”

“Okay, I will. Thanks.”

“No problem,” she nodded, and left for the dormitory. 

Steve felt relieved and conflicted as he walked back. Maybe he could put Bucky to sleep after the code words were said? If Tony was the only one who had some stake in it? But how far would he come if he had to carry Bucky too?

He made a thousand plans and discarded them all on his way back, because he still knew he couldn’t change anything unless Bucky wanted to run with him. And he knew just how hard it was to change Bucky's mind when he had decided on something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked it, leave a kudos<3


	6. Use your words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The conclusion and solution. Some angst but mostly fluff. Tony Stark is a decent guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the encouragement I got on this story, thank you so much.
> 
> If you want to follow me on social media I exist at @saltvattenshar on Tumblr and @Saltwaterhair on Twitter.
> 
> You can check my other stories out [HERE.](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Saltylocks/works)
> 
> Thanks!

“Hey,” Clint said warily when Bucky walked into the kitchen. 

Bucky could see the archer tensing up and immediately felt bad. He had operated under the impression Barton was a jerk, like Stark and the others, and now he wasn’t sure how to right his wrong. He should have seen it, he blamed himself as he strode over to the counter and grabbed some Wakandan corn porridge still simmering on the stove.

“Big day today, huh?” Hawkeye added carefully. “I’ll just leave you to it.”

He got up to leave, but Bucky grabbed his arm before he could move away.

“Sit,” Bucky grunted.

“Oka-ay,” Barton said, tensing.

Bucky looked at him and let him go.

“Sorry,” he said, sitting down next to the archer. “I seem to make everything worse. I’m sorry about last night too, I just, I get a little jumpy when someone is suddenly standing in my bedroom in the middle of the night. Not a lot of people are able to sneak up on me like that.”

Clint looked at him solemnly.

“No problem,” he said and relaxed a little. “I was worried about why you seemed so annoyed with me.”

“Steve said... that you read lips a lot. Must be difficult with me.”

“Yeah, you are kind of a challenge,” Clint admitted. “But you are also kind of impossible not to like, so it’s okay.”

Bucky glared at him again, but in what he hoped wasn’t in a quite as intimidating way as before.

“See, this is why...” he sighed. “What does that even mean?”

“I mean, come on, everyone here cares about you.”

“They do?”

Bucky scrunched his face up. He had not expected that, and especially from Barton.

“Kind of. I mean, the Winter Soldier was kind of scary, but Bucky Barnes? Come on, even Stark looked pretty infatuated yesterday, and that was after what, a few hours around you? Not to mention last night.”

“That was just because they like Steve!”

Barton smiled a little wider, his eyes warm and crinkly. Bucky felt a little embarrassed. 

“Nope.”

Bucky frowned at him. It was too much to take in, right now.

“Do you know ASL?” he asked to change the subject.

“Sure, I learned it as a teen,” Clint said, looking a little taken aback. 

“Do you?”

They started signing and Bucky was intrigued by all the adaptions and developments since the fifty's. He kind of wished he had more time to learn it, along with everything else he wished he had more time for: staying in or going dancing with Steve, trying out new foods, play video games... All of which he wasn’t sure when, if ever, he would do. The Winter Soldier had done some pretty messed up stuff, and a lot of it, so who knew when he would be free again? Or would he get a lifetime sentence? Or the death penalty?

It gave him a kind of morbid satisfaction thinking it could all be over soon. He had no illusions left. He had had a good run though, getting to be with Steve again, getting better acquainted with the Avengers. They maybe even liked him, if Clint was any indication. Who would’ve thought? Bucky still didn't feel totally convinced he really had woken up from the pod.

Steve walked in a few minutes later, looking equal parts relieved and confused.

“How’d it go?” Bucky asked. 

“I... Good?”

“You sure?” 

“Yes?” Steve said, tilting his head doubtfully.

Bucky smiled.

“Alright. Think there’s some porridge left if you want.”

Steve nodded, walking over to kiss him and then to the stove. 

T’Challa suddenly stood next to them, looking dapper as always. Bucky hadn’t even heard him come in.

“Morning,” he said, holding a plain looking cup of coffee. “Just thought I should tell you they’re ready for you in the lab.”

“Alright,” Bucky nodded. 

They ate and walked down to the lab, Bucky growing more and more anxious, his stomach knotting. Steve looked really pale as they strapped the former Winter Soldier onto the newly installed metal table. 

“Ready?” the head technician asked Steve. 

“Yes,” Steve said, swallowing.

The others left for the control room and left Steve alone with Bucky. 

“I’ll be right outside.” 

“I love you,” Bucky grumbled. “Just do it quickly.”

Steve kissed him, eyes stern and eyes glistening as he let go.

“Love you too, Buck.”

Steve stepped outside. Wanda and Sam met his eyes, while Clint, Sharon and Tony stood a little further back. They had their heads together, and barely looked up before continuing their low, heated conversation. T’Challa stood with his hands in his pockets behind the tech’s, supervising their every move. He pointed at a chair with a microphone in front of it. Steve took his seat and cleared his throat. Then he started to recite the codes.

\---ooo---

Buck?

Bucky felt very sleepy. There was this good ache in his muscles, like after a run or a good workout.

Buck?

“Steve?”

He had the most gorgeous dream, where he was back with Steve in this weird place somewhere in the African jungle, and he didn’t want to wake up yet, he didn’t want to wake up do dark cellars and nutrition soups and killing people. He wanted to stay with Steve.

“Buck? Hey...”

Steve touched his arm now, and someone said “careful!” but then Steve’s hands were back again, and Bucky reached for him, wanting to stay in the dream, and it felt so real, so solid. Bucky smiled and moved closer, rolling into Steve’s arms. They felt warm. Too warm. Bucky peeled open one eye, peering around. Steve smiled down at him, and it was like the whole world shone brighter when he did. 

“Я мертв?” Bucky mumbled, and Steve reached down to whisper in his ear.

“I have no idea what you just said, but the tech’s says everything went well.”

Bucky opened his other eye and looked around. His metal arm was still gone. Behind Steve stood Stark, Barton, Wanda, Falcon, Sharon and T’Challa. They really were in the lab in the jungle. He tried to find his bearings, but there was this easy feeling in him now, like nothing could be as bad as it once had been. Maybe it wasn’t a dream.

“The words... is it done?” he asked Steve.

“Yeah,” Steve said. “You mumbled something and then you fainted for a while, but everyone says it’s okay now.”

“Okay. That’s good.”

Steve embraced him, burrowing his nose into his neck. Behind him, Bucky met eyes with Tony, standing by, looking strangely proud and very impatient at the same time. Bucky could feel a twinge in his heart as he breathed in the smell of Steve’s skin. He might not be able to touch him for a long time.

“Should we go, then?” he asked Tony, letting go of Steve, not wanting to get too attached if he was just going to be separated from him again. Bucky’s chest felt weird but he wouldn’t cry.

Stark looked at him, really looked and smiled as he crooked his neck and seemed to contemplate the question.

“Sorry, who are you again?” he said, looking smug.

Bucky frowned at him. 

“I’m not in the mood, Stark.”

“I’m sorry... do we know each other?”

He walked a little bit closer, and then, a feigned look of recognition on his face.

“Oh, now I remember. You’re my cousin, right? On my mother’s side? James, isn't it?”

Stark almost glowed with joy over his own brilliance now. Sharon and Clint looked at each other and did a high five, barely containing themselves. T’Challa looked like he had some clue, but the rest of them just stared.

“Tony?” Bucky rumbled. “What is this?”

His chest was impossibly tight now, a weird feeling behind his eyes. He would not cry.

“You literally woke up a new man,” Tony said, reaching back. 

Sharon produced a folder from somewhere behind her and Tony grabbed it and started reading. 

“First, I made some calls, and this letter,“ he held it up for a second, “is currently sent around to all the people involved, the U.N. and such.”

He cleared his throat, eyes shrinking.

“‘Dear general Ross, I regret to inform you that the Winter Soldier is lost in battle, please make the necessary preparations...’, yada yada, you get the picture.”

Tony held up another piece of paper, this time too close to Bucky’s face to read. Before the former assassin had time to adjust his eyes, Stark had whisked it back and started showing them to the other's, eager to a fault.

“This is my dear cousin James!” he said. “Or, maybe not first cousin, but you know, family all the same. Quite a coincidence that we ran into you here, isn’t it? Anyway, as a professor of foreign languages, you are here to check out the universities around here and maybe come back to the US and visit your dear uncle Tony on the very next flight. Quite a coincidence, if you ask me, but I’ve taken a shine to you so maybe not that strange after all. I am after all, considered an eccentric billionaire.”

Bucky just stared at him. Falcon started smiling too, and when Wanda got it, she hit Clint on the arm. 

“You were in on this and didn’t tell me?” she hissed. “I thought I made it clear, I’m not a child.”

“It just went too fast, Tony stayed up all night orchestrating it.”

“Yeah, I did call in some favors,” Tony said, stretching a little, yawning.

“It must have been quite a big chunk of favors,” Steve mustered, looking awed. “Thanks, Tony.”

Stark gave a little bow. Bucky was still quiet, trying to form a coherent sentence.

“So what you’re saying is...”

Everybody in the room turned towards him.

“...you’re not going to bring me to stand trial in the U.S.?”

Tony’s white teeth glimmered as he winked at Bucky.

“Always been a little slow, my cousin. Must be getting it from his father’s side. What exactly have you done wrong, son?”

Bucky narrowed his eyes.

“I’m still the Winter Soldier.”

Tony looked at him, serious for just a second.

“The Winter Soldier is dead. Missing in action. Didn’t you get the memo?”

“Besides,” he interrupted himself, holding up a finger as if to prove a point, “if you are the Winter Soldier, where is your metal arm, huh? I think you are, in fact, a professor in foreign languages. Look, your latest work was a collaboration on the ‘Socioeconomic implications of bringing Romania into the 21th century.’”

“Stark...”

“I’m not even sure the Winter Soldier is anything but a legend. A fairy tale to scare little children with. The avatar of communism. Wouldn’t you agree, James Buckley?”

“I...” 

Stark’s face was just too much, staring intently at him. Bucky felt a hand on his shoulder. Steve felt very warm and very real.

“But I need to...” Bucky said, standing up, but immediately sitting down again, feeling unsteady and dizzy. 

The doctors and lab assistants crowded him and the avengers took a step back, watching as he laid back and took a couple of steadying breaths. Everything spun for a second. He wasn’t sure how to feel. Bucky hadn’t even considered the possibility there was a way to fix this. That he could be someone else. Someone new. Apparently he already was.

He kept very still as he was treated to a new set of tests.

“Your heart seemed to race a little there for a second, mr Barnes,” the head tech said. “Do you feel alright?” 

“Yeah, yeah,” he said. 

“Never made anyone faint before,” Tony said as Bucky got up again, still a little wobbly but better.

“Tony, how can you be alright with this?” Bucky blurted, feeling almost angry. “I’ve done terrible things...”

Stark walked closer and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey. Everyone deserves a second chance, and I’m happy if I can provide one, once in a while.”

“But I’m still...”

“Okay, listen."

Stark looked impatient now.

"If it makes you feel any better, talking to you, you seem quite conflicted as it is. All of us here know what it’s like to lose something or someone, but it serves as a reminder to be better and keep on moving. And, besides, what do you think would happen if I actually helped putting you in jail for those things? Steve would kill me. I’m just looking out for my own, if that makes you feel better.”

Stark patted his shoulder and let go. Bucky felt a bubbly, unfamiliar feeling move up his body. Happiness, he realized. Freedom. Self-autonomy. Thankfulness. Love.

“And making me your relative?” he said, turning the corners of his mouth up a little. 

“Oh, that. Part of the punishment, I guess.”

Stark grinned in full now. Bucky was definitely not crying. Not here in the same room as some of the most powerful people on the planet. No, definitely not.

“Thanks, Tony,” he mumbled, a lump in his throat making it difficult to talk. 

“Sure kid, anytime.”

The aloof tone was completely obscured by the big, triumphant smile on Stark’s face. Bucky had no illusions that his new “uncle” would find a way to use their new bond to his advantage, but right now, he just smiled back, not able to do much else. Wanda was the first to sneak in between them and give him a hug, and the others followed her, dunking his back and shaking his hand. 

And then Steve was there, embracing him tightly.

“Nice to meet you, James Buckley,” he whispered.

It hit Bucky that they weren’t going to be separated again, and that made him shiver, and yeah, now he was definitely crying.

"Oh my god, are you Captain America?" he whispered back, holding him tight. "I've heard so much about you."

Steve ignored him.

"Want to get an apartment in Brooklyn?" he asked. "I'm sure your uncle can arrange something."

"It's probably about time," Bucky teased. "I mean, we've known each other for all of five minutes."

"Then it won't be so sudden if I ask to marry you in a week or so?"

Bucky snorted and let go of him a little. 

"You're robbing me of my name? That I just got?"

"I'll give you a new one?"

Bucky just looked at him.

"Alright."

"Well, now I need a drink," Tony said, yawning. "T'Challa? Got something?"

"I think we have some old whisky down in the cellars," T'Challa mused. 

"Wonderful, wonderful. Anyone care to join me?"

"I could certainly go for some," Sharon said. 

Falcon and Clint stared at her, but then Sam shrugged.

"Yeah me too."

They all walked back to the kitchen and T'Challa started making a couscous stew and brought up some wine and whisky from his wine yard. Bucky started telling stories about Steve and him back in Brooklyn and made it sound funny and romantic enough to have everyone writhing with laughter. It was the best night he had had in a long time.

When they said goodnight, Bucky actually felt more intoxicated from the social interaction than the wine. Maybe there was a chance that Clint was right and they actually liked him?

"That went well," he said, crawling into bed with Steve. 

"Yeah, it did," Steve said, kissing him on the cheek. "You always were better in social settings than I was."

"I thought I'd be all rusty," Bucky mumbled.

"Yeah, I almost felt jealous, especially when you and Wanda went off in Russian."

"Oh, yeah, that was just, you know, it makes it easier expressing certain feelings, especially when drinking."

"I didn't mind, Buck," Steve said, chuckling softly. 

"любимая," Bucky said, kissing his neck, burrowing his face between his jaw and throat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a kudos<3 and or a comment. I read them all and if you ask questions, I try to answer them.
> 
> All the love<3


	7. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter! Around a year or so has passed. Ross visits Tony Stark with some top secret pictures.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter you guys! Thanks for reading this story, all the love<3

"Stark!"

Tony looked up from the workbench and angled the welding protection from his face. 

“Teddy!” he exclaimed.

“Don’t call me that,” Ross barked.

He clenched his jaws tightly as he walked over to the billionaire, almost colliding with one of Tony’s robots.

“God dammit!”

“No, bad robot,” Tony said, “go sit in the corner!”

The general collected himself and threw down a big brown file in front of Tony.

“Explain this!” he grumbled.

Tony carefully picked the file up. It was marked with TOP SECRET in big red letters.

“What is this?” Tony asked, pouring out its contents all over his table.

It was pictures of Bucky, taken at various locations all over New York, sometimes in the company of Steve, sometimes alone, carrying things like grocery bags, the two of them holding hands, kissing, playing basket ball on an abandoned parking lot. Tony and the other avengers were in some of the pictures too.

“Yeah,” Tony said, “that’s my cousin, Jamie. He’s a linguist.”

“Tony, you and I know fully well that that is the Winter Soldier.”

“No...” Tony said, making sure Ross understood exactly how much he didn't know, “no, I don’t think so.”

“Tony...”

One of the robots made a high, beeping sound.

“Dum-E,” Tony scolded him, “sorry, general, I really have to get back to work.”

He angled the protection back and bent over his project again.

“Fine,” the general grumbled and started to gather up the pictures. “But this isn’t over.”

Tony didn’t answer. General Ross looked down at what he was welding. It looked like a left arm, silvery and flexible.

“Tony, it that...?”

Tony looked up at him again, clearly annoyed.

“For the new suit I’m building for Rhodey? Yeah. You like it?”

The general squinted at the piece. It looked far too lean and flexible for something to fit inside.

“Is that...?”

“Tony? You down here?”

Ross looked up just in time to see Bucky come down the stairs, a light spring in his step. The easy grin on his face froze as he saw the general. 

“Sorry, I didn’t know you had a visitor.”

The look on the general’s face was a mix of fear and determination as he slowly reached back into his holster. 

“Hold it right there,” he threatened.

“Whoa,” Bucky said, holding both his hands out, “careful, I don’t...”

The general watched him, and the second hand, looking as natural as any other. The young man in front of him was dressed in a red, long-sleeved t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. He looked like any New Yorker in his thirties. General Ross slowly let his hand down, empty.

“My apologies,” he said. “I must have mistaken you for someone.”

The young man still looked a little shook up. Then Tony was with them, an arm slung around his cousin’s neck.

“Jamie, what have I told you about stomping down here without telling Jarvis first, huh? I could have ladies here or something.”

“Yeah right,” Bucky said, sounding snide.

“Hey,” Tony said, punching him in the arm.

Bucky laughed a little and punched him back. The general just stood there, not knowing what to think. All his inside contacts had told him that this man was the former Winter Soldier, a man classified as one of the most dangerous assassins in history. All he saw was a careless, maybe slightly awkward cousin of Tony Stark.

“Anyway, I’ll leave again, if you had something to do?” Bucky continued, still smiling, still looking a little wary of Ross.

“No, the general was just leaving,” Tony smirked. “I’m sure he has better things to do than make unfounded accusations.”

“Uh-hu, what you gotten into now?”

“Oh, nothing too exiting, but, you know, top secret.”

“I see,” Bucky nodded. “Iron Man stuff?”

“Thank you, Tony,” Ross interrupted, “I guess I should be going.”

“You want me to walk you out?”

“I can find my own way, thank you.”

They both waited quietly until they could see Ross’ car leaving the drive way.

“You think he bought it?” Bucky said, leaning against the work bench, petting Dum-E and U. 

“We’ll see,” Tony shrugged. “He showed me this whole shoot of images they got of you and Steve. I’ve never seen anyone looking so normal and happy at the same time.”

“It’s easy around Steve,” Bucky dodged the question as the robot made a content sound.

“You’re doing a great job, is all I’m saying,” Tony said, “no need to get all defensive about it.”

Bucky sighed.

“Sorry.”

Tony whisked his hand at him.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s try out the arm.”

Bucky moved so he could help Tony unclasp the straps, and removed his t-shirt.

“Careful, it’s hot,” Tony said as he moved it from the supports.

“I’ve been through worse,” Bucky said, pushing a few buttons. 

The other arm detached, the fleshy parts of the hand and arm stiffening and becoming less skin like.

“Has it worked well?” Tony asked, making notes on the screen next to him.

“It looks like a real arm when I'm wearing it,” Bucky reported. “The shoulder joint is a little stiff and chafes a bit, and the pinky finger is a little slow from that one time I... hit it with a basket ball.”

Bucky's cheeks got a little red as he said it, and Tony concluded that there was probably more to the story. He knew better than to ask though. He didn't want to know what Bucky had been using his machinery for. 

“Well, it’s only a prototype,” Tony glossed it over as he stored his document away. “Take it off, so I can see. It’s so much fun having a live person on my table.”

Bucky kept quiet and let Tony work, petting U and Dum-E as they rolled by with stuff Tony needed. The arm felt light and worked fine, but they also needed to fit the skin-like plastic over it and do some final neural adjustments, and as time dragged on, Bucky started to talk, just to pass the time.

“I do mean it when I say it’s easy to be around Steve, you know,” he said. “I don’t act like I’m happy, I am actually feeling happy. There’s a big difference.”

“Just don’t do anything that can get you arrested,” Tony mumbled, a screw between his lips.

“All I want to do is stay home with Steve,” he said, “maybe play some video games. That's all. It’s alright.”

Tony hummed, putting the last screw into place. Bucky didn't know what else to say, so he looked around the room. 

“Sounds like a good life,” the billionaire agreed, standing up and stretching.

"It is," Bucky said, looking at the suits around the walls. 

Tony smiled a bit as he recognized the longing on his face.

“So, does that mean you don’t feel like helping me take down a giant swarm of killer bees that just invaded South Manhattan?”

Bucky frowned at him, but Tony didn’t look like he was joking.

“What about the arm?” he asked.

“Call it a test run,” Tony grinned. “How about it, mr Video games?”

It took Bucky maybe a thousand of a second to decide.

“Let’s go,” he said, jumping off the table and grabbing his t-shirt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like it, leave a kudos and/or a comment, I read all of them.
> 
> Hugs and kisses<3 See you in the next fic :)

**Author's Note:**

> If you like it then you should put a kudos on it <3
> 
> There will be more soon(yeah, I know you heard it all before). 
> 
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